Bardella denies antisemitic messages, files defamation suits against Mediapart
Bardella denies antisemitic messages, files lawsuits; voters remain skeptical of his denial.
Event / Politics
French Presidential Election 2027
Coverage of the 2027 French presidential election campaign, including candidate announcements, policy positions, and political developments across the political spectrum.
3 reported locations
Daily activity
55 articles0 articles
2026-08-02 to 2026-10-30 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 28 Mar, 12:07 UTC
Follow the documented timeline or explore the related reporting.
What happened
Russian Storm-1516 group previously targeted French presidential candidate Édouard Philippe
In July 2026, the Russian group Storm-1516 targeted another 2027 French presidential candidate, Édouard Philippe, with false information about his health circulated through social media posts.
Russian group Storm-1516 targets French presidential candidate Glucksmann with deepfake disinformation
The Russian military intelligence group Storm-1516 (GRU) conducted a disinformation operation targeting Raphaël Glucksmann, a probable 2027 French presidential candidate. The operation used deepfake technology to create fake videos involving Glucksmann's partner journalist Léa Salamé and journalist Edwy Plenel, distributed through a fabricated media outlet mimicking the online news site Blast. The attack was detected in late August 2026 and had relatively low visibility on social networks.
Journalist Edwy Plenel voice cloned via AI in Russian disinformation operation
Russian intelligence used artificial intelligence technology to reproduce the voice and identity of journalist Edwy Plenel in a deepfake video as part of the disinformation operation against Glucksmann. Plenel had previously warned publicly about the false information on social media platform X.
French government plans budget adoption in winter before 2027 presidential election
Despite lacking parliamentary majority and pre-election context making the outcome uncertain, Prime Minister Lecornu reiterated the government's intention to adopt a budget in winter to avoid hindering the future president elected in May 2027. He warned that candidates attempting to block budget adoption in autumn would bear responsibility for undermining their own first year of presidency.
French government plans budget incentives for digital and AI investment
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed creating a budget bonus-malus system between government ministries to incentivize investment in digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
French PM proposes multi-year school planning based on demographic changes
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed redistributing a demographic dividend across territories and creating multi-year school maps to account for France's declining birth rate and falling enrollment numbers in schools.
French PM proposes reducing reimbursement for low-benefit medicines
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed decreasing reimbursement for medicines providing only weak therapeutic benefit. He also proposed asking higher-volume medicine users (over 50 boxes annually) and frequent medical visitors (over 25 visits yearly) to contribute more, while protecting vulnerable populations. Hospital rates and medical consultation reimbursements would be preserved.
French PM expresses pessimism about meeting 2026-2027 deficit reduction targets
Prime Minister Lecornu stated he is not optimistic about achieving deficit reduction objectives for 2026 and 2027. The government targets a deficit of 5% of GDP in 2026, down from 5.1% in 2025. He cited the war in Iran and its energy price consequences, along with increased military costs in the Gulf, as factors making targets difficult to achieve.
French PM says government cannot suspend budget decisions until 2027 presidential election
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated in an interview published July 22, 2026, that the government cannot suspend all decisions, particularly budgetary ones, until the 2027 presidential election. He emphasized the need for honest budget direction while accepting that French voters could change course, framing it as a matter of democracy rather than indefinite delay.
French PM proposes fiscal stability without new tax increases
Prime Minister Lecornu outlined fiscal policy priorities for the finance bill, advocating for fiscal stability with neither tax increases nor creation of new taxes. He did not exclude examining the effectiveness of certain tax deductions and combating fraud as part of the budget strategy.
French PM proposes greening TVA compensation fund for climate adaptation
Prime Minister Lecornu proposed modifying the FCTVA (TVA compensation fund for local authorities) to prioritize spending on climate change adaptation, rewarding municipalities for climate-related expenditures.
Les Écologistes propose green fiscal reforms including climate ISF and green VAT
Les Écologistes propose a "green and fair fiscal policy" including a climate-based wealth tax (ISF climatique), green VAT (TVA verte), and transportation tax reforms. The reforms would increase aircraft ticket prices while reducing railway costs as part of their vision to exit capitalism and promote ecological prosperity.
Les Écologistes activists approve autonomous presidential candidacy
Les Écologistes activists obtained in early July the endorsement in principle for an autonomous presidential candidacy in 2027, allowing the party to run independently rather than as part of a broader left-wing coalition.
Les Écologistes unveil 2027 presidential campaign platform
Les Écologistes, led by Marine Tondelier, unveiled their platform for the 2027 French presidential campaign on Monday, centered on institutional renewal and ecological prosperity. The party proposes creating a "First Ecological and Citizen Republic" with constitutional reforms to end presidentialism, strengthen judicial independence, and integrate essential elements for shared life into the constitution.
Marine Tondelier proposes federal council meeting on left-wing strategy
Marine Tondelier proposed on Friday to convene the federal council of Les Écologistes to discuss campaign strategy following the Socialist Party's decision to abandon the idea of a unified left-wing primary excluding La France Insoumise. The proposal came after the PS vote on candidate selection methods.
Les Écologistes propose integrated military council at European level
Les Écologistes propose creating an integrated military council attached to the European Council as part of their federalist European tradition, reflecting their commitment to European institutional integration.
Ségolène Royal announces candidacy for French presidential election
Ségolène Royal announced she will enter the race for the French presidential election in the autumn as a Socialist Party candidate.
Right-wing candidates position themselves for presidential race
Right-wing political figures Édouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal, and Bruno Retailleau are preparing to run for the presidential election.
Marine Le Pen campaigns for National Rally presidential candidacy
Marine Le Pen of the National Rally is actively campaigning as a presidential candidate following the lifting of legal restrictions on her candidacy.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon campaigns as La France Insoumise presidential candidate
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, is actively campaigning as a presidential candidate.
Read the coverage
2 alternative perspectives
Mélenchon expands autumn campaign across strategic French cities
Mélenchon expands autumn campaign across strategic cities while strengthening rural organizing.
France targets five percent budget deficit amid campaign fiscal pressures
France targets 5% deficit in 2027 budget facing National Rally opposition and rising debt pressures.
Mélenchon threatens prosecution as central banker defends monetary independence
Mélenchon threatens treason prosecution; Moulin defends central bank independence from political interference.
Le Pen defends Bardella amid antisemitic writings controversy
Le Pen publicly defends Bardella against antisemitic writings allegations as National Rally maintains polling lead.
Bardella rejects budget support, complicating fiscal governance ahead of election
National Rally leader Bardella rejects current 2027 budget support amid France's escalating fiscal crisis.
Le Pen unveils ambitious economic platform targeting 140 billion euros in savings
National Rally's economic platform targets 140 billion euros in savings through tax elimination, pension reform, and reduced EU contributions.
France's media regulator reviews podcast rules ahead of 2027 election
France's media regulator is reviewing podcast regulation as digital creators gain election influence.
Philippe proposes sixty-five retirement age with sector exemptions
Philippe proposes sixty-five retirement age, forty-five contribution years, with exemptions for difficult careers and capitalization components.
Philippe outlines pension reform raising retirement age to sixty-five
Philippe proposes raising France's retirement age to 65 with targeted exemptions and capitalization components.
Mediapart publishes alleged antisemitic writings attributed to Bardella
Mediapart reports alleged antisemitic writings from Bardella; he denies them as forgeries.
National Rally achieves historic Senate milestone with first parliamentary group
National Rally forms first Senate parliamentary group, expanding institutional presence before 2027 election.